Boy scouts train as junior fire marshals

Nov 08, 2013

Over 300 members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP)–Batangas Chapter can now proudly call themselves junior fire marshals.

The selected boy scouts from public and private secondary schools recently went through a two-day Junior Fire Marshal camp conducted by gas technology and sustainable mobility proponent Shell through its social development arm, the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI).

Launched in 2012, the Junior Fire Marshal Camp targets youth from the neighboring communities of Shell’s refinery in Batangas, to raise their fire safety consciousness and promote safety at home, school, and within their respective communities. The communities include Tabangao, Ambulong, Libjo, San Isidro, and Malitam.

The camp is just one of Shell’s innovative methods in continuously contributing to nation-building through youth development, among other advocacies and ideals such as road safety, environmental management, driver education, efficient transport, developing new energy sources, smarter products, smarter infrastructure, and many others.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. communications and social performance manager Cesar Abaricia says that Shell and its partners decided to expand participation in the camp on the second year of its implementation to promote the message of fire safety to a wider youth base, through the renowned Boy Scout organization.

The enthusiastic response to the first camp, particularly from the kids acting as fire safety officers and echoing the lessons learned in their respective schools, also convinced Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Superintendent Rommel Tradio to expand the program to maximize its efficiency.

“Since the boy scouts are enrolled in schools all over Batangas City, they can help spread the message of fire safety and influence to more of their peers to become effective fire marshals despite their young age,” said BSP–Batangas Scout Executive Ramil Borbon.

Tradio also hopes that other community fire stations will see the Junior Fire Marshal camp not only as a showcase of the fruitful partnership between BFP and Shell, but also as a model to follow and replicate.

As part of Shell’s strong advocacy toward nation-building through youth development, it has also previously worked with BSP on its annual mangrove planting.